Shale Giant Marathon Chooses Cash Returns Over Oil Ramp-Up

The shale giant announced plans to spend $1.2 billion on capital projects this year, in line with analysts’ expectations for a 20% increase from the 2021 level, according to a statement on Wednesday. The company forecasts generating more than $3 billion of free cash flow, exceeding estimates by half a billion dollars.

Marathon said it expects to exceed its commitment to return a minimum of 40% of cash from operations to investors, assuming oil prices average around $60 a barrel or higher. Per-share adjusted earnings of 77 cents exceeded the average estimate by 22 cents.

The company pledged to continue buying back shares after repurchasing $1 billion since October, reducing share count by 8%. The promise comes three weeks after Marathon increased its quarterly dividend by 17%.